Ranked 54th and playing on a wildcard, the Olympic champion beat Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in Beijing for her first WTA 1000 title
Zheng Qinwen becomes first Chinese player to win China Open
Article by:
PUBLISHED:
Zheng Qinwen won the China Open on Sunday, beating Russia’s Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-4 in the women’s singles final in Beijing. In doing so, she became the first Chinese player ever to win the tournament.
It is Zheng’s first WTA 1000 title, with WTA 1000 events sitting just below the Grand Slams in the tour’s hierarchy. Zheng entered the event on a wildcard, ranked 54th, and won it on home soil. The women’s main draw ran from 30 September to 11 October.
Andreeva was the fourth seed and is the reigning French Open champion. She beat Maja Chwalinska in June for her first Grand Slam title. It was Zheng’s second win over her in as many meetings.
Zheng’s route to the China Open final
The run to the final was far from easy. Zheng’s first four matches all went to a third set, including a 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 win over 18th seed Marie Bouzkova in the third round. She then won her last three in straight sets, beating sixth seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 in the quarterfinals and 13th seed Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals.
[See more: Mavericks beat Rockets 132-115 to split NBA China Games in Macao]
Playing in front of a home crowd in Beijing had long been one of her dreams, Zheng said. She thanked her team afterwards for backing her through what she called a very tough year.
The title caps a long road back. Zheng won Olympic gold at Paris 2024 and reached a career high of No. 4 that year. A right elbow injury followed, and she had surgery in July 2025. Her ranking dropped as low as 160 this year.
The win brings 1,000 ranking points and US$1,151,380 in prize money. It should lift her back inside the top 30, with live rankings putting her at No. 23.
